If you really want to see his potential, you have to run plays for him. He is a natural scorer and needs the opportunity to score. I can understand the Rockets wanting to work him in slowly. And the rest of his game looks competent. But Morris still needs to show that he can be a scorer. Since that's what we drafted him for, and that's the one skillset where he's head and shoulders above our other young guys. Until Morris shows or fail to show his ability to score, I'm not going to judge him much.
I like what was said about moving Chase to the 2 with him getting heavy 3 minutes in the off-season. Good god Martin needs to go. Chase has passed him as a defender...CHASE!!!! Think about that for a minute and how godawful he was at D.
Yeah, Ive been saying for awhile now that Id really like to see the Rockets move Budinger to the 2 guard spot. I think they would be better suited having more size as well in the lineup. The only question is, can the Rockets get good value for Martin this summer in a trade if Lee/Bud are getting his minutes the rest of the year? I dont think so honestly. If your a fan of the lineup they have going now with Lee the starter then you should be rooting for Martin to come back from this injury and destroy the league for the rest of the season. The Rockets need him to have great value as a player and not just an expiring contract next season.
The bigger obstacle might be Morey overvaluing or just not wanting to part with Martin. I'd send him to a losing record team who have their superstar, want to win now, and have capspace to absorb his contract, eg the wizards or portland. Ideally, they'd get cap space and a promising project like Jan Vesely.
I think Morey sees the value of martin on and off the court. He is still one of the most efficient scorers in the league when he wants to be. He also gives him flexibility as a player who can help clear some cap space if they need to sign someone bigger. He can trade him this summer to a team like Minny or include him a deal for Howard or Gasol as an expiring throw in. I think Morey is looking at the whole picture and has all his bases covered.
I really hope the Rockets don't deal for Gasol. The Lakers are a stuck franchise for the next few years with Kobe and Pau's deals. Unless a team comes along and bails them out with a package of smaller contract/younger players.
I think the thinking on Martin is simply that there is no reason to trade a guy while he is slumping and his value is low. He does some good things for the team when healthy and motivated. He might be traded in the summer, but there is time to decide on that. No need to knee jerk panic trade him
Yeah, as far as defense goes, Bud has been improving since last year, especially his team D. From awful, to decent, but not consistent. This season, I think McHale's tough love has gotten to him. Now, he's more consistent. He's picked up his man defense quite a bit and it's good to see. Martin should be a good, quick defender, but he's just not committed to it. Chase has realized that if he wants minutes, he has to defend.
That's exactly why I think we brought in Camby and are going for a playoff push. Martin and Scola's value have dropped significantly since the veto in december. If we have a good playoff series, their value can go up again, and we can trade them and let the young guys play.
Unfortunate, but this is what it is. Glad to hear his defensive wasn't lacking. The scoring is his strength no need to worry about that.
